(Sorry for the ungrammatical title question; the title's space limitation did not allow the insertion of the appropriate commas.)

When, if ever, will negative stereotypes disappear?

I've been around for a few decades, and the negative stereotypes you heard as a child are still around in society today; they're just a bit more muted. I don't care what stereotypes you care to mention -- ethnic, racial, sexual, or whatever -- they seem to die very hard.

Do you think that stereotypes will ever truly die?

Think about it: Thirty years ago, there were certain stereotypes about certain races. Today, you can surf the message boards on Yahoo.com, or Google.com, and you can see the same kinds of hateful messages: Whites saying nasty things about blacks; blacks saying nasty things about whites. It's all very discouraging. And this is merely one example.

Why hasn't the world made more progress toward eliminating prejudice, bias, and hatred in the way that most thinkers have advocated since World War II?

Is that a myth, a positive stereotype? Or the kind that have had a positive affect on people? My life experiences are biased, takes these as you will, but know I am not responsible for what others are thinking.

Stereotypes are just majority rules thinking, it is not right, it is just what everyone thinks and thus is seen as both okay and supported.

Only with education and IMO, such a concept would REQUIRE everyone to know as much about everything as possible. I'm not infering people shoud know everything, just that most do not know anything past what they are so sure of. Their confidence of what they know prevents them from questioning what they (at that instant) consider negligible or unimportant. Selfish, in other words. Those that accept stereotypes, speak, act and live for themselves or those that which matter the most to them.

Stereotypes exist due to ignorance alone. Ignorance spawns from lack of knowledge. How does lack of knowledge exist? It is said the less we know about things, the easier it is to make decisions. Since our live are what matter the most, we are selfish.

The meaning of life is curiosity; we were put on this planet to explore opportunities.

Funny you should mention that. Just today, I was in a meeting with someone and actually had to ask them not to use a particular word anymore. I mean, I'm not exactly the most high-strung guy when it comes to this sort of thing, but I mean really... the "N" word ??? Who uses that word anymore? And 3 times in one conversation?

I was stunned. I couldn't believe that in Toronto, Canada, one of the most multicultural cities in world, someone would use that word and not think anything of it.

Developing prejudices is not an un-natural phenomenon. We can only build up a certain amount of perspective in our lives and when younger, this perspective is fairly narrow and will therefore cause us to stereotype groups based on this perspective.

Encouragingly, I think as a society people are generally more open to the idea of stepping outside of our frame of reference to attempt to understand different perspectives. In theory, this practice should lead to less negative stereotyping.

Quoting YOWza (Reply 1):I read somewhere that within 200 years there will be no more naturally blond people. Quite amazing stuff. So I'm going to say give it 500 years.

Hmm. That assumes that only one particular kind of people are subject, or prone, to prejudice. I take it that you are kidding?

Quoting Lehpron (Reply 2):Only with education and IMO, such a concept would REQUIRE everyone to know as much about everything as possible. I'm not infering people shoud know everything, just that most do not know anything past what they are so sure of.

I agree that education is important; however, it's troubling because this generation is supposed to be the best-educated ever, and yet the amount of stupid verbal attacks on whole groups of people seems to be escalating, if anything. That's if the Internet is any indication, and maybe it isn't.

Quoting Canuckpaxguy (Reply 3):I was stunned. I couldn't believe that in Toronto, Canada, one of the most multicultural cities in world, someone would use that word and not think anything of it.

I was in Toronto recently and on my way to my car, I walked past a construction worker (I could tell from his helmet) who was swearing up a storm -- in public. I don't usually hear this even in relatively let-it-all-hang-out L.A. He was talking on a payphone, and it was f-word this, s-word that. It was really quite astounding, as I've always thought that Canadians were more polite than that.

Quoting KiwiinOz (Reply 4):Encouragingly, I think as a society people are generally more open to the idea of stepping outside of our frame of reference to attempt to understand different perspectives. In theory, this practice should lead to less negative stereotyping.

Agreed. But in practice? I dunno.... I do think that negative stereotypes are diminishing somewhat in currency, but not as rapidly as I would have thought.

Quoting Canuckpaxguy (Reply 6):You've just made a sweeping generalization about Canadians yourself.

That's true, but it's a positive statement, and thus I don't consider it harmful. Or as harmful.

Quoting Lehpron (Reply 2):Is that a myth, a positive stereotype? Or the kind that have had a positive affect on people? My life experiences are biased, takes these as you will, but know I am not responsible for what others are thinking.

I do believe in the existence of positive stereotypes, such as that little old ladies are not prone to violence, etc.

I live near a nursing home and the residents often use the same corner store as me for milk etc. A few weeks ago one of the residents, (a little old lady) thought I said something offensive to her and poked me very hard with her umbrella, and chased me out of the store. I hadn't said a word!

Quoting AerospaceFan (Reply 7):That's true, but it's a positive statement, and thus I don't consider it harmful. Or as harmful.

No sweat ... and I was tempted to reply with a completely ignorant comment like "must have been an immigrant" as an ironic joke ... but decided against it for obvious reasons. But it's true: Sometimes we swear here in Canada.

Point is, stereotypes are stereotypes. My Mom, bless her heart, grew up in very segregated Protestant neighbourhood in Northern Ireland. She is so paranoid about being seen as racist, she's become notorious for her "reverse racist" comments. She might say something like, "Black people are wonderful singers" or "Pakistani woman have such beautiful figures". They are not negative comments per se --- but they ARE stereotypes.

Quoting Canuckpaxguy (Reply 9):"Black people are wonderful singers" or "Pakistani woman have such beautiful figures". They are not negative comments per se --- but they ARE stereotypes.

I know what you mean. When people find out I'm a kiwi, I tend to notice them gazing at my crotch, looking for the massive bulge that is stereotypical of most kiwis. I do correct them however, as those from the South Island tend to be a lot smaller...

I hate to be pedantic, but I think a more imperative question would be when will INACCURATE negative stereotypes disappear?

...because, like it or not, politically correct or not, some stereotypes are simply true, whether they are positive or negative stereotypes.

There ARE differences between the sexes, between races, between cultures, between religions, etc... and there are simply many accurate stereotypes.

For instance, plumbers and the like DO more often where pants that reveal their butt crack when leaning over - sad, but true. Men DO like sports more than women - true. Women like to communicate by talking about emotions, men often don't - true. French people like to disagree for the sake of disagreeing - true. Computer guys tend to lack something in the social graces, especially with the opposite sex - true.

Or, anyway, these kind of statements are so often true that it makes the stereotype valid.

Quoting KiwiinOz (Reply 10):I do correct them however, as those from the South Island tend to be a lot smaller...

Followed by their exclamation. . . "Ah, so you're from the South!"

I don't think you'll ever get rid of sterotypes. Humans by nature classify, that's how we evolved. 'Lucy' saw a large cat on the savanah, she thinks cats=danger, she ran, she survived. Instead I think its a matter of teaching children that when dealing with individuals, you have to look beyond sterotypes they may have learned, and understand the person.

"The two most common elements in the universe are Hydrogen and stupidity"

Indeed we do swear, but it is always done in the most polite of ways. For instance, most people would say "Hey buddy, go f**k yourself," but in Canada it would probably be more along the lines of "Excuse me Sir, would you please insert your phallus into your anus and f**k yourself. Thank you for your cooperation."

When the stereotypes stop representing a significant and/or visible portion of a given population it will disappear..... and be replaced with a new stereotype (provided a dominant/frequent perception manifests itself).

Quoting Lehpron (Reply 2):Stereotypes exist due to ignorance alone. Ignorance spawns from lack of knowledge. How does lack of knowledge exist?

I disagree. We first consider that stereotypes are not simply a means of looking at people but other things as well.

I don't want a Jaguar because it is an expensive car to maintain.
I will buy a Lexus because it's known for reliability.

I won't live in Phoenix because it's hot an dry.
I will look for a house in Maryland because the climate is mild.

By no means does this preclude the possibility of a cool day in Phoenix or a lemon Lexus. Both opinions may have been informed with somewhat incomplete knowledge. In both cases it's possible that I could miss out on a benefit - However, in the long run a Lexus will prove to be more reliable than a Jaguar and the climate in Maryland will be less intense than that in Phoenix.

People judge people and other events, things and occurances based on their own personal beliefs and experiences, some good, some bad, some indifferent. Everyone's experiences are different, everyone will stereotype a different way, and it's not necessarily a bad thing, basing actions based on past experiences is more likely to lead to positive actions being taken in the future.